It’s amazingly entertaining to read the anti Tesla bursts that come to the surface each time Tesla presents a new product. Now, just after the semi truck and the next generation roadster reveal, the Web is inundated with the most horrible prognosis and descriptions on Tesla’s downfall: now it’s the horrendous amount of money Tesla is burning by the minute, or the impossible business model that will never work, or the cars that Tesla promises that aren’t delivered, or the quality issues that aren’t solved, all and everything is used and thrown against all Tesla lovers, fans, owners.

The best part? When so called Tesla fans repeat and share everywhere add nausea the same catastrophic headlines with the word Tesla in it associated to bombastic adjectives and near future for sure Tesla’s death. When you start asking for objective factual information they all bable the same adjectives and death certainties until they dry and runaway. I call them the “snail eyes” people: they recoil, to surface again in the next new Tesla product reveal.

Its funny reading today’s descriptions of people going to, or returning from, France or Germany with their Teslas… “How difficult it is”, and “How adventurous it is”… Pleeeease… With Tordesillas and Burgos? And now Rivabellosa?! Give me a break…

Try doing the Spain traversing with no Superchargers. No Burgos, no Tordesillas. The Museo De La Evolución Humana De Burgos was a lifesaver. The three phase plugs 22 kW (no Destination Chargers!) @Parador de Salamanca was an oasis. The parking @Serra Shopping, Covilha, was an absolute must.

Thank you Tesla, today Spain is not anymore a pain.

Today’s superchargers panorama is well advanced and Portugal is being introduced in the superchargers network, the future is bright

The 26 of October they started construction. Today it is like the photo shows, taken yesterday. Yours truly managed to follow the construction process not from the start but close enough. This find was a great joint effort from lots of people with a great deal of help from UVE, the Electric Vehicle Users Association.

Someone just asked for the pinout of the 1phase to 3phase converter, useful when charging in places where the conventional plug is the only option. So here it is: very simple to do, just follow the pinout taking into account that Brown is L1 phase and Blue is Neutral. On the Schuko side it doesn’t matter provided your charger is OK with it either way. If your charger, like the Tesla UMC, is sensitive to the L1 being in the right place just unplug the schuko and plug it again turning it 180°, easy. The pictures follow next.

This is my main charger, robust and goes up to 22 kW, also able to charge single phaseThe 1phase to 3phase converter is just a plug converter where only 1 phase will be used, there’s no miracle and in this context there’s no way a 1 phase system is usable as a full 3 phase systemThe connections, Brown to L1, Blue to N, it goes without saying that green yellow goes to the Earth pinProtect the wire with a “sleeve”, it avoids damaging the connection and increases contactFrom the schuko side I marked the L1 (F as for Fase = Phase – Portuguese) and the Neutral, but this charger works well with any position for the phase; some chargers refuse to charge, just unplug and plug again “reversing” 180° the schuko

– During a Tesla meeting in London, some women, several men, I told the European Tesla guy: we loose the husband before the buy, during the buy and after the buy, you should do something to involve the wifes!

I know at least another wife that agrees 100% with this statement, mine 😉 😉